The Return of the Good Ole' M3 .45 ACP 'Grease Gun'

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Great to see alot of old tankers here on the forum. I had a M3, but they got rid of them when M1's replaced the M60's. 1/66 AR 2AD
 
The Quiet Thumper Returns!

I have fire two Greaseguns, but ony briefly...one suppressed. I really liked the suppressed M3A1!! A tad heavy but for CQB, Recon and raids....it is a great tool.
Did get to shoot the Mac-10, a pair of Tompsons and the UMP-45, which is by far my favorite of the .45 SMG's. But the Greasegun is a close second, and in this case cheap and available NOW.
I spent 6 weeks in the Phillipines...mostly around Subic Bay, and the people were very friendly, the military/police are people this old grunt jarhead would not want to mess with. They are extremely intelligent, adaptable and friendly folks.
Politics...well, we have not to look too far from home to see the greatest political antics.
jercamp45
 
Sorry....No offense intended to Phillipinos[sic] as a people.....We know they're historically tough....just making a joke about the recent actions of their government....wrong forum....mea culpa.

Personally I like the M3 in principle...never had the opportunity to fire a real one though.


edited because it should have read "Fillipinos"
 
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What are tank crews issued nowadays?
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Good question. I don't know for sure, but since even our standard issue "rifles" would be called carbines in WW2...anthing would probably be appropriate...esp. the M4's.
 
The M4 is standard AFAIK for tank crews when they can get them. Many Tank Crews in Iraq were short and couldn't arm all crew members. Many Tank Crews used pick-up AK-47's for the job. IMHO, the M4 is an outstanding weapon for Tank Crew Protection.
 
During my daze of occupation duty in S. Korea in 1954/1955, our supply truck guys usually checked out a grease gun when they'd make a run up to the supply depot at Yong Dong Po. We had a lot of trouble with "slicky boys" getting into the back of a supply truck and throwing stuff out on the street for their buddies to haul away.

The primary instruction for our shotgun guards was, "You DO NOT initiate a sequence of "Bang!" followed by "Halt, halt, halt!" followed by "Braaaaapppp..."

However...

:), Art
 
Sorry to contribute to the drift....

Let's lay the blame where it belongs--the Filipino politicians who caved to al-Qaeda pressure out of fear of attacks in their own backyard. :banghead:

The Filipino military--I'm pretty sure the ones in Iraq (as well as many back home) were ready to do a few "headhunting" missions of their own in response... :evil:

And I'm sure they'd put those Grease Guns to proper use "lubricating the squeaky wheels" of terrorism... :cool:
 
What are tank crews issued nowadays?
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M9, aka the Beretta 92F. One or two M4's. They're trying to get enough M4's or M16's for all tanker crews.


During the initial invasion of Iraq, tankers picked up AK47's with a semiofficial ok due to a lack of long guns. When enough M4's got around, a lot of tankers didn't want to give up their AK47's. Now, it's fairly no-no to carry an AK47.

'course, if you're not caught (by the officers), you're not wrong. :evil:

(Kidding, I swear!)
 
A friend's boyfriend returned from Iraq earlier this year, his platoon was issued 2 M4s and 2 M9s per tank while over there.

Kharn
 
Random thoughts on the Grease Gun:
M3's are cool, they're sorta like the MP-40, but not as ass-ugly as that thing is, and has a rather cooler sound (I like guns with a slower rate of fire, sounds more like "Dakka-dakka" than the "brrrrp!" that faster arms make). Plus, .45 ACP == Mo' Dakka (joke, no caliber wars, I command it!)

~Slam_Fire
Hurrah for useless posts!
 
Art Eatman,

I've only heard one person, other than you, use that term "slicky boys". My Pop, a Korean war vet, still uses it sometimes. Usually in describing lawyers, car salesmen and the like. :)
 
This may be a stupid question, but if they are so cheap to make, how come they aren't available to the general public in semi-auto version? From my point of view the ultimate in home defense, looks cool, handy, reliable, .45cal...need I say more? Must be a good reason they aren't available or common.
 
Art Eatman,

He also told me why those guys were so "slick". They had to be in that trade. He saw what was left of a slicky boy after some village "poppasans" caught him in the act. He was a medic during the war and the scene grossed him out. :)
 
Just remember the more complicated something is...

The more that can go wrong. I think this is a fine idea and shows some ingenuity and some very intelligent leadership. These weapons were meant for a few reasons, expedient and easily maintainable. they are both, as well as their cousin from England, the STEN. That is not a weapon to balk at. My money has it on the M3 and would take one over that damned H&K anytime (especially in surpressed mode). The MP5 is given to getting fouled up to malfunction very quickly, compard to the M3 (both in surpressed state). The M3 and the STEN can fire quite dirty. I'll save the money, equip more troops and spend less time training in maintenance on a simpler weapon. Less need for a professional armorer on maintenance as well.
By the way I know this sounds like a similar arguement to the M-16/M-4 vs AK. Sorry...
 
This may be a stupid question, but if they are so cheap to make, how come they aren't available to the general public in semi-auto version?
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They do. But first, it is unwieldy with the length of barrel required for civilian ownership. Second, the safety mechanism isn't likely suitable for civilian use.
 
That thing looks goofy with the long barrel.

If the stock were pulled off, would it be considered a pistol, and obtainable with a short barrel?
 
2 thoughts.

#1 Shows you don't need the latest wizbang modern guns. The oldies can still get it done.

#2. The Phillipines are so poor they can't even afford a single HK. Brutal.:eek:
 
MrAcheson,

Hi. Yes, I understood the weight to have included the mags.
I think it would be extremely difficult to allow M3's for private civvy ownership for lack of built in safety features, as well as for the full-auto aspect.

I apologize for the following thread drift.
[rant on]
Originally posted by jimbo
The Phillipines are so poor they can't even afford a single HK. Brutal. :eek:
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Yes, jimbo, brutal.
1. Our Armed Forces has to restrain a pseudo-Islamic rebellion, heavily funded by foreign governments including, until recently, Iraq.
2. Our Armed Forces also have to contest a Communist insurgency logistically supported by a foreign communist state. Smuggled shipments of 'Norinco' AK's, RPG's/SAM's and motley LMG's are regularly beached on our shores, straight from the patron state for pickup by the insurgents --we don't have a Coast Guard or Navy big enough to protect 7,100 islands.
3. Our Armed Forces further have to contain the aforementioned, neighboring Communist State, --it continues to build hard outposts with STOL airtrips on coral atolls IN OUR WATERS, just 72 miles offshore, and we don't have anything we can oppose it with.
4. Our Armed Forces and Police still further have to hunt down and eliminate a host of JI and al-Qayyida terrorist cells in the country, those cells heavily funded from outside, and increasingly engaged in operational tie-ups with communist assets.

We simply can't afford new hardware. The M3's are here now, and ready to go. Navy SWAG, Marine Force Recon, Army Scout Rangers and regular troops will have to continue making do with whatever second-hand, reconditioned rattle traps we can scrounge up. If we can contain so much aggression with such dilapidated materiel, well... I can only dream of the peace that could be secured with decent hardware.

Heartfelt thanks to the US for helping us out, and continuing to help us out.
[rant off]

I again apologize for any discomfort caused by my above detour, and thank everyone for all the comments to this thread. The M3 is a worthy weapon, whether for use in the services or even merely for studied research by a firearms aficionado.

Lots of history to it,
and heck, the old 'Grease Gun' still does gets the job done.

horge
 
horge - I don't know you but having been reading your posts for some little time now regarding firearms, mostly Bersas, and other topics which come up in context of the posts, I have come to the conclusion that you are pretty much a class act. You have common sense and express yourself well and with politeness and respect. Rare qualities. I salute you.
 
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